The Villain Is Obsessed With His Fake Wife

CHAPTER 024: I also marked it as mine

Posted by RJR, Released on September 13, 2023

24. I also marked it as mine

Pop! Pow!

Colorful fireworks exploded in the sky above the imperial palace. Colorful fireworks began to appear in the black night sky. A tingling pain and a strange feeling of heat spread, starting from my collarbone. My heightened senses made me feel many things. The sweltering summer heat, the heavy scent of John and the noise of the banquet mixed together. His precious yet rough stroking touch, his sweet breath as if trying to soothe the pain. John seemed to know that she was excited by the strange atmosphere, but he pressed his lips to the mark he had made.

“I can’t stay here any longer.”

When John removed his face, a red mark stood out clearly above his collarbone. Her dress was designed to show her shoulders and collarbone. If she went out in front of people like this, everyone would know what happened between them.

“I even marked it as mine like this.”

John smoothed out the marks he had left with his thumb as if he liked them.

“No other bastard will get caught again.”

Without realizing it, she looked at John blankly, her eyes turning red.

“…shit.”

Then he kissed the bridge of her nose, as if he couldn’t bear it anymore.

“If I feel the same way, I want to eat you up right here.”

The subdued voice growled with slight excitement.

“I want to pull out the eyes of all the bastards who offended you.”

“…”

“They cut off the limbs of all the cubs that dared to touch them.”

It seemed like John would really do it.

‘If you think about the Anton incident…’

John’s red eyes were shining brightly. Maybe that’s something I’ve been looking at for a while. But it wasn’t like that at all.

‘But Anton and the Crown Prince are very different beings.’

John, the Duke of Blanchett, had nothing to lose but a loss if he lost the crown prince who would one day inherit the throne. There was no way what happened with the crown prince was a lie to deceive me. Because the crown prince is not a person who can be manipulated by anyone.

‘You said you were going to play with me and then throw me away…’

She didn’t know why he protected her and was jealous for her, who was only a fake wife, like his real wife. John asked, taking a deep breath.

“Wife, tell me in detail what that bastard prince said to you. Don’t say it’s no big deal like you did just now.”

From the beginning, John left no room for her to escape. He probably had something in mind that he hid during Erich’s time.

“His Royal Highness… He asked me to be his partner for one night.”

John gritted his teeth. The corners of his smiling mouth trembled slightly.

“…And what more?”

“Then he said that if I were to please him, he would make me his concubine.”

John’s face became expressionless, as if frozen.

“Ha.”

He, whose face was stiff, burst into laughter.

“I shouldn’t have left that damn bastard alone.”

John… He seemed really angry. To calm his anger a little, she spoke in a calm voice.

“I was going to turn him down because I have a husband…”

“I trust you, wife. You did well.”

John smiled and winked in satisfaction.

“But it’s a pity that I couldn’t even break that bastard’s limbs.”

Suddenly, the fireworks exploding in the sky stopped. Soon, more golden lights burst out from the banquet hall of the imperial palace. With his back to the light, John had a dangerously decadent air. Raw emotions were visible from the corners of the mouth, where a completely uncontrolled madness was clearly felt. For a moment, she thought about how dazzling, wonderful and beautiful John must have been in the splendid light of the imperial palace.

“That’s too bad.”

She was sure John was so handsome that he captured the hearts of not only her, but all women.

“I wanted to dance in the ballroom.”

“…Should I go in now?”

“It’s fine.”

Today, John showed his anger as if he was going to run amok more than usual. But perhaps because the target wasn’t her, she didn’t feel scared at all.

“Seeing the night sky with the Duke like this is enough.”

Especially because it was her first time seeing the night sky with fireworks exploding. It was so cool.

“I probably won’t forget today even if I die right now. Oh, that doesn’t mean I want to keep attending the party. Now I don’t have to come to parties or masquerade balls anymore.”

Crown Prince Carlos was a guy who didn’t do his duties as the Crown Prince and was only into parties and entertainment. At any party there was a risk of him showing up.

‘In that case, it’s better not to go unless it’s absolutely necessary.’

John’s red eyes trembled slightly.

“Why?”

“That’s right, there’s no reason to waste your time and experience something once.”

Besides, she knew the shortcomings, but doing it again would be foolish.

“…Why is there a waste of time? I’m doing it with my wife.”

At the completely unexpected reaction, she blinked for a moment before finding the right words.

“But the Duke is busy. Doing various things together will be less boring for the Duke.”

“Don’t think about me, just think about what your wife wants to do. You overthink me. Although as a husband it doesn’t feel bad.”

John stroked her head gently. It was a touch as if touching something very precious.

“If you do that too much, I get upset because it feels like my wife is forgetting sometimes.”

“Which part?”

She was afraid that there might be something that went against the dark spirit for no reason. Then, John smiled his characteristic languid yet arrogant smile.

“The fact that your husband is well-off enough.”

* * *

Crown Prince’s Palace. It wasn’t until noon that Crown Prince Carlos came to his senses. The events of last night came to mind clearly and made him angry. Estelle, whom he had been looking forward to so much.

‘How dare you ignore me like that?’

He was the crown prince and was looking for her even from before.

‘It seems like he foolishly didn’t realize how precious an opportunity it was.’

There was a lot of talk going around in social circles that John was toying with Estelle and didn’t even file a marriage certificate in order to get rid of her. In fact, he even checked at the imperial palace. As expected, the two were not even married yet. Because Estelle was still a member of Libertan. So the crown prince decided to meet the Emperor and report the Duke’s rudeness.

“Father. I have something to tell you. Last night-”

“Carlos.”

The Emperor interrupted the Crown Prince with an expressionless face.

“Did you touch Duke Blanchett at the ball last night?”

Carlos frowned.

“Has Duke Blanchett already come and told father? Father, actually…”

“There is nothing to blame the Duke. Because you did it wrong.”

The Emperor did not even listen to anything Carlos said.

“Be on probation for a few months. If you reflect on yourself, even Duke Blanchett will let go of his anger.”

“Father!”

Carlos, very angry, raised his voice.

“Why on earth don’t you even listen to what I have to say? In the first place, Duke Blanchett was rude to me first. And isn’t the other person actually married to Duke Blanchett?”

“Duke Blanchett submitted the official seal of the temple and the marriage registration with the permission of the imperial family and went. She is now officially Duchess Blanchett.”

“What?”

Carlos’s face went blank at the completely unexpected news.

“Are you saying he officially married Estelle?”

“Yes! Now do you know what you have done?”

“B-but…”

If Estelle became the official Duchess Blanchett, surely Carlos was at fault. But Carlos didn’t want to admit it.

“The Blanchett duchy, at least, isn’t it the duchy that was finally reinstated with the help of the imperial family this time?”

It was true that the Duke Blanchett family was a very great family in the past. But it’s all in the past. Now, it was nothing more than a resurrected ducal family that had fallen.

‘Even if Duke Blanchett is an individual great man.’

Still, he couldn’t compare to him, the crown prince. The dauphin contorted his face at the ridiculous disposition.

“Even if the Duke Blanchett family is great, I am the former crown prince. Even considering the majesty of the imperial family-”

“You still don’t understand the situation and talk nonsense like that. Even then, can you say that you are the crown prince of the empire!”

The Emperor frowned and slapped the prince on the cheek.

“Now the Blanchett family… It means that they are not someone we can ignore like that.”

That was the first time his father hit him. The shocked crown prince asked, covering his swollen cheek with blank eyes.

“So you’re saying the royal family should bow its head?”

“I don’t even want to listen to you anymore. Go.”

Carlos forced himself to leave the throne room. The Emperor sighed deeply as he looked at the crown prince. To the Emperor, Carlos was an unpleasant son who, instead of faithfully performing the duties of a crown prince, only showed his side.

‘I don’t even know my father’s heart.’

In addition, the weakness of the imperial family held by Duke Blanchett was too strong. Duke Blanchett even elevated the imperial authority on behalf of the emperor.

“Are you here?”

A knight with neat, short silver hair, clear blue eyes, and stoic features wore armor and bowed to the emperor.

“Your Majesty’s loyal subject, Leandro Felsis, greets you.”

“…Did you see the prince’s insolence?”

“I didn’t attend the ball so I didn’t see it.”

The Emperor sighed deeply again at the blunt knight Leandro’s answer.

“What on earth is that Libertan orphan, causing this mess?”

No matter how pretty Estelle was, she was an ordinary girl. As an Emperor, it was absurd that the Crown Prince was swayed by such a woman and had an affair with Duke Blanchett. How long will she give herself a hard time with women’s problems? The Emperor, who was silent for a while, seemed to have realized something and asked Leandro.

“Now that I think about it, you are also related to that orphan.”

“…That’s right. We were once engaged, but then broke off the engagement.”

“For what reason did she break off the engagement?”

Leandro’s face, which had been expressionless the entire time, fell slightly.

“The person I was originally engaged to was Yestella Libertan, the biological daughter of Duke Libertan. Although it was a promise between families, she broke off the engagement because the partner changed. There is no other reason.”

“Something like that happened.”

The Emperor clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Anyway, the reason I called you, the captain of the imperial knights, is for the summer banquet that will be held soon. Now that the Crown Prince is under probation, she may need to revise the Knights’ schedule.”

The Emperor told Leandro what he had to do as a knight commander. However, the Emperor’s voice could not be heard in Leandro’s ears.

‘Estelle.’

She was her fiancée whom he abandoned because she was not Yestella. At that time, he thought that he had been caught up in Libertan’s nonsense, and cut it off with his single sword.

‘She was, frankly, a stupid, vicious woman.’

The fact that she tried to enjoy her glory by taking advantage of the dead woman’s position proved that Estelle was as evil as she was rumored to be. But as a noble knight, he didn’t even want Estelle to die.

‘Even if you’re a villainess…’

Blanchett, she was caught up in the Duke’s vengeance.

‘Maybe it’s my fault too.’

If Leandro hadn’t broken off his engagement in the past, Estelle would have already become someone who had nothing to do with Libertan.

‘In order to fulfill the duty of a knight, I must seek it.’

Leandro’s expression as he looked out of his window was pensive.

* * *

The day after the masquerade. John came with an unknown gift. It was a luxurious box, just like when he gave her the bracelet.

“…What’s this?”

What was in the box was an anklet. It was adorned with a pure red ruby resembling John’s pupil.

‘It’s not a normal gift.’

He said, showing the bracelet still hanging on her arm.

“It hasn’t been long since I received the bracelet.”

“I like giving it to you. Just that.”

Red eyes that sparkled more than ruby looked at me and twisted strangely.

“I want to fill you up with me.”

Somehow, she felt a tingling sensation again near her collarbone, where John had asked at the masquerade ball. She blushed and answered, ‘Thank you.’ The anklet was perfect for her ankle size. It didn’t even feel heavy or burdensome. She put on her anklet and looked at John again. She didn’t know why she was so conscious of his eyes on her ankles.

‘It’s only an ankle.’

Just as she was about to quickly lower her dress skirt to cover her ankles, John extended a hand toward her ankles. The moment his elegant index finger touched the ruby, a light spark flew out.

“Duke?”

John’s eyebrows furrowed and he bit his lip, probably from an electric shock. It didn’t look like John. He was looking at her with shocked eyes. She tilted her head and worried about him.

“Are there any problems?”

“My wife.”

John lowered his delicate eyelashes while muttering softly, ‘Such pain.’ It seemed like he didn’t have the heart to answer. So she quickly hid her ankle in the meantime.

“I’ll do well.”

“By the way, ma’am, do you know what anklets mean?”

John, whose expression had suddenly returned, asked with a relaxed expression.

“Does the anklet have any meaning?”

She, who only knew the meaning related to the color of the gem, tilted her head.

“You don’t know either.”

Then the smile on John’s lips grew deeper.

“Somehow, I regret it.”

“But the Duke wouldn’t have given you a gift with a strange meaning.”

“Are you sure?”

John approached his face with a mischievous smile.

“I have some pretty strange thoughts about my wife.”