The Villain Is Obsessed With His Fake Wife

18. A new feeling arises

Estelle’s pulse pulsated through her palm. A warm yet vivid sensation ran through heris body. John involuntarily swallowed.

‘It’s not difficult.’

The fingers on Estelle’s neck did not gain strength. They didn’t move at all. For a moment, John thought something was wrong with his hands.

‘I can’t kill her.’

Rather, he was afraid that he would inadvertently injure this delicate woman’s neck. John grew more nervous and strained his hands. His heart was pounding. He couldn’t even tell if it was the sound of the woman’s heart in his hand or his own. Johan glared at the sleeping Estelle with terrifyingly red eyes. It’s a funny feeling. However, these funny feelings and impulses took over him. John was overcome by reason to deny the fact and the urge to accept it. Like a chain that could never be tied, there was no conclusion.

“Ha.”

John let out an absurd laugh.

“It was nothing.”

At first, Estelle was a simple revenge target for Libertan’s revenge. But if that was all, he should have been able to kill her right away.

‘I thought it was a trivial emotion.’

He was confident that he could get rid of whatever emotions he had. Even now, that fact has not changed.

‘…but.’

Even when John considered Estelle to be a factor in this revenge, he couldn’t calmly abandon Estelle. In the end, she became more than a target for revenge. He was forced to admit that fact.

“My wife.”

Even in the midst of this, a woman who sleeped very soundly without any vigilance.

Stupidly, he had no idea who she had next to her or what might be going on while she slept.

“Estelle Libertan.”

John slowly called Estelle’s name. The name of the revenge target wasn’t important at all, so even if he knew the name, he didn’t mention it at all. Estelle was also calling him ‘Duke’ anyway, so there was nothing strange about it. John took a handful of Estelle’s pink platinum hair and carefully kissed it. He flashed back to the moment he was with Estelle.

‘That was my fault. I just didn’t want to worry about something that wasn’t a serious illness.’

‘It’s just that it’s not to the point of consuming emotions unnecessarily.’

‘Can the Duke treat me if I want?’

Estelle continued to upset John. When he saw Estelle’s nonchalant attitude, docile and careless, John became angry. Even though it benefited John, he couldn’t bear the emotional surge of anger.

‘What if you knew I tried to kill you?’

Even then, the woman might say something similar to ‘It’s okay’. The thought made his head feel hot again.

“…Duke?”

Estelle slowly opened her eyes. Fortunately, there were no marks left on her neck. While John was relieved by that fact, he reflected on the absurd fact that a woman’s body could get marks even when squeezed a little too hard.

“Duke. What are you doing?”

“It’s nothing.”

John smiled kindly as he watched Estelle stretch.

“It’s so nice to see you this morning.”

“No, don’t make fun of me.”

“Was I too sincere?”

John shrugged his shoulders, and Estelle’s cheeks turned strangely red. The man put a hand on her pretty cheek.

“…It’s just that we happened to be together.”

“I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t.”

This naive reaction was so overjoyed. A desire arose contrary to the expected for a woman who was merely a target for revenge. He wanted to own everything in this woman, and this obsession that made him want to be her everything.

“I get a new feeling every time I see you.”

He needed to confirm this desire for her. Somehow, so as not to get in the way of this revenge.

“How strange.”

John’s eyes bent as he gazed at Estelle.

* * *

Again, sleeping with John was harmful to the heart in many ways.

‘What’s going on with him since morning?’

She honestly had a feeling that something was out of the ordinary from the moment she woke up. But while she was asleep, it seemed that John, like a lunatic, was determined to do something.

‘Especially those eyes…’

It was only for a moment, but the red eyes felt like the flames of hell. As if they would drag her to hell and kill her at any moment. It’s been a long time since she had had such an eerie feeling, so she got goosebumps.

‘I couldn’t even do anything about being a hostess.’

But it didn’t matter. Patricia had already been warned, and John had given instructions, so she would have to ask Betty. Betty came in and greeted her with a pleasant face.

“Lady, did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, did Betty sleep well?”

“I didn’t sleep well because I was worried about you.”

“Worried about me…?” she asked, blinking her eyes. “Is something wrong with me?”

“It’s not a problem. It was the first time you two shared a bedroom, right?”

Betty, who came closer, spoke cautiously.

“I really did not know that the master would use the couple’s bedroom with the lady. Originally, he was someone who couldn’t even sleep with anyone.”

“…”

“I was worried what would happen if the master left the lady in the middle and the lady was shocked.”

Unfortunately, it was the opposite.

‘I wish John hadn’t come in!’

How nervous she had been when John came in wearing only a gown. Also, how uncomfortable was it when she woke up in the morning? She held Betty’s hands and smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry. Even if that happened, it would have been fine.”

“…lady. You really are…”

Tears welled up in Betty’s eyes. It looked like she wanted to say something out of her mouth. However, Betty soon closed her mouth and smiled sadly.

“I’m glad though. I don’t think the relationship between the two of you is bad.”

What the hell was she thinking?

‘If I had to ask… Is she worried about something like what happened in the original story?’

In the original story, she greeted John in her bedroom. However, the first night did not take place between the two, and there was not even a time where John asked for a nap by her side. Feeling unloved by her family and shunned by her husband, she fell in love with John more and clung to him. Just as John had planned.

‘Of course there are some differences.’

In the original story, she never used the couple’s bedroom. In the first place, the couple’s bedroom in the main building was too precious to John. A building barely reconstructed after it was completely burned down. Even if there were almost no traces of the family, it was a place that had been restored as before. There was no way he wanted to bring something like Libertan’s daughter to a place like that.

‘Did he bring me here because I suddenly collapsed?’

It might have been a bit difficult to bring her back to the annex because of the Anton incident. Betty looked at her and confirmed again in an excited voice.

“So, madam, is it true that the master went to sleep with you?”

“…I don’t know if he left and came back in the middle.”

She thought it’s something that a meticulous person like the black-magic man could do. Then Betty shook her head.

“No way. Could it be that the Master must have felt something for you too.”

No matter how much she thought about it, Betty seemed to see the world too positively. She was a formidable kid too, but Betty was even worse. But she decided not to break Betty’s pleasant imagination.

‘She likes it that much, so what?’

After having breakfast prepared by Betty, she decided to look around the mansion before starting the hostess business in earnest. After giving detailed information about the main building, Betty brought a letter from the nearby office.

“Here is an invitation to the Imperial Palace’s masquerade for the Blanchett family. It has come in your name.”

“In my name?”

She didn’t know if it came in the name of the Blanchett family, but the invitation in her name was really unexpected.

‘No. I must be a celebrity by now.’

The adopted daughter of the twice-broken Libertan married Duke Blanchett. To be precise, instead of paying off the debts of the House of Libertans, she went into living with the Duke of Blanchett. Meanwhile, the Duke of Libertan was arrested for treason, and no one knew what happened to their adopted daughter.

‘Even if it were me, I would have been curious.’

How absurd was this situation. It was clear that some nobles were betting whether she was dead or alive. She put the invitation back in the envelope and returned it to Betty.

“Take this invitation and put it in my room.”

“Yes. Would you like to look around the main building, madam?”

Unlike the annex, the main building was so large that it seemed difficult to see it all in one day. She shook her head and answered.

“I’m going to go to the garden now.”

“Oh, the garden in the main building is really beautiful. May I guide you?”

“No, it’s fine. I want to walk around the garden comfortably by myself.”

After being given a rough guide, she headed towards the garden of the main building. In general, gardens were greenhouses with flowers, as they saw in Libertan. However, in the garden of darkness, there was a forest where trees were planted densely, perhaps because of the maze garden.

‘I think I’ve been hearing sounds from around here.’

As she expected, the closer she got to the forest, the clearer the voice became. 

– This time, I feel a strange dark magic in the mansion…

– I don’t know if something big is going to happen soon.

– That child is coming into the forest again. But can’t you see us?

The same voice that spoke to her in the study, the thick male voice that warned her before Anton came.

– I don’t know if you can hear us now.

– When she was sick the other day, I felt like she heard our voices…

It seemed to be coming from that tree. She thought carefully as she placed her hand on the tree.

‘What should I say?’

At that time, a faint light hovered over the tree she placed her hand on, and the voice she heard grew louder.

– Can you hear our voices?

She nodded and asked the tree.

“That’s right. By the way, the people who talk to me right now… Are you really a tree?”

– Oh. Oh my god. She can’t see us, but finally we can talk.

– She should have been able to talk to us because she was scared when he was around!

In context, they seemed to be referring to John. The trees were angry with each other. Then some trees paid attention.

– Let’s all calm down. What the hell is this going on between trees that have aged together?

– That’s right. Aren’t you ashamed in front of children? It’s a waste of nutrients eaten from the root.

Then they reconciled with each other again. The tumultuous trees began to speak solemnly.

– We are the trees that live in Blanchett’s garden.

– I’ve been waiting to talk to you for a long time. Perhaps all the trees that passed by you were waiting for you.

Even after saying that, the solemn atmosphere did not return. But she listened intently. It’s a story that didn’t even appear in the original story.

“… me? Why me?”

– That’s because you are the last fairy.

Last fairy.

‘I’m a fairy?’

A tree lowered its branch and took on the appearance of stroking her hair.

– You must have been very surprised by the story you suddenly heard.

“Um, that. Yes. So, are you saying that I am the last fairy?”

– That’s right. Haven’t you ever seen something that others can’t see?

She had been thinking about it, but she didn’t remember seeing anything like a ghost.

“I have not.”

– She can’t do that. And in this mansion? There may have been times when you saw the same object, but saw it differently than others. Fairies see the truth that has nothing to do with the present.

Nothing was guessed. So she decided to move on to something more productive.

“But why hasn’t this happened before?”

– I kept getting blocked by something so I couldn’t talk to you.

– Especially you…

A solemn atmosphere flowed through the trees.

– Because you’re cursed, you’re losing your fairy powers.

Cursed.

– Since fairies are the most valuable offerings, they were often used as sacrifices.

– What kind of terrible humans put such a terrible curse…

The contents of the black magic book suddenly came to mind.

‘They said there must be an offering and a curse.’

The beating of her heart was surprisingly loud. She asked in a trembling voice.

“Do you know what curse is upon me?”

– Unfortunately, we don’t know that far either. So many curses are complicatedly hung.

The story was back to square one.

‘Who cursed me?’

The black magician who appeared the most in the original work was John. And he held a grudge against Libertan, and even sought revenge on her.

‘But is it really John?’

She couldn’t jump to conclusions until she checked it out.

“Is there any way to check who put the curse?”

– Curses absolutely need a medium. If you are the one who has been cursed, you will surely be able to recognize the medium.

“Can I break the curse by breaking the medium?”

– Probably so.

Then there was only one action she had to take.

‘John’s office.’

If he hid it somewhere deep in the mansion, she wouldn’t be able to find it, but if it’s John’s office, she could enter right away.

‘It’s also where John spends the most time.’

The last time she went to pick up snacks, there were too many people, so she couldn’t take a good look.

“Well then, I’ll go find it now. But if I don’t see you like this, will we not be able to talk?”

Just then, a leaf rustled down from above. The moment she touched the leaves, a light green light permeated her body.

– Don’t worry. From now on, you will be able to talk comfortably just by thinking of us.

* * *

She immediately went to John’s office. It was fortunate that there was no one in the middle to interrupt. However, as soon as she saw the front door of the office, she hesitated.

‘What if John is inside?’

Then she immediately shook her head.

‘I should say that I came to talk about that wish or transaction from last time.’

Still, for some reason, her body was tense, and her hand that opened the door trembled. But no one was in the office.

“Thank god.”

Entering the office, she immediately checked John’s desk. No matter where he left in a hurry, John’s desk had papers on it. One of them stood out.

‘Teddy bear cookies?’

It was the same cookie that John gave her the other day.

‘Could it be that he brought it to me?’

It was absurd, but thinking about that, it was just when she saw the document with the name Libertan written on it. Suddenly – the door opened.

“This time, Baron Bleinyu went to investigate…”

To be honest, she expected this situation to some extent. So she deliberately came up with an excuse for that.

‘By the way…’

She grabbed her head with both hands.

‘Why am I hiding here?’

As soon as the person came in, the thief instinctively hid under the desk because her feet were numb.

‘If I leave here, there will be a strange misunderstanding!’

It was clear that the knight commander and John were now near the door. It was then. One person slowly approached the desk.

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