The Villain Is Obsessed With His Fake Wife

She looked down at young John and whispered carefully.

 

“John, wait a minute. I’ll be right back.”

 

Somehow, her feelings were complicated as she felt like she was leaving him alone as a child. She escaped outside the prison and ran to where the guards were heading.

 

‘I don’t know when this dream will end.’

 

For some reason, she thought there might be a time limit. If she procrastinated, she would wake up without being able to do anything.

 

“-Everyone saw what I did, right? Our guards have to set aside money like this. I may come back next time at Libertan, so take note. You should take the money with you and even keep a record of what you received, just in case. This way, there will be no setbacks.”

 

There was a particularly noisy room.

 

‘Found! The warden’s room!’

 

It was much larger than the guards’ lounge she had just passed by and appeared to be well decorated. The guards were drinking and fawning over a man sitting on a luxurious chair in the center.

 

“As expected, the warden is different. Even though you are a nobleman, don’t you take good care of our guards and even give them such valuable advice? I don’t know what we would have done if it weren’t for the warden.”

 

“Adventure. Even though I was born as Baron Penula, wasn’t I someone who became a member of the imperial family? It’s definitely different from other nobles.”

 

He must have been drinking for quite some time, and the smell of alcohol was strong even when he entered the room.

 

‘Thank you for being so lazy during work hours.’

 

Of course, the guards may not be able to see her, but they may feel a strange sense of discomfort just like young John did just now. While the guards were drinking mindlessly, she looked at the keys hanging on the guards’ belts. But there was something she couldn’t think of.

 

‘Should I take all the keys?’

 

The keys all looked similar, so it was impossible to tell which key was the key that bound John. Then she saw a bundle of the jailer’s keys that were slightly different from the other keys.

 

‘The former warden was talking about Libertan just now, wasn’t he?’

 

As he was the heir of a family that had committed treason, John was under strict management. Common sense tells us that there was no way that just any guard would have the key. He made his way through the noisily moving guards and stood next to the guard. Then she gently grabbed the bundle of keys from the guard’s side.

 

‘I succeeded!’

 

Fortunately, it appears that he has enough physical strength to grab the bunch of keys. It was when she carefully picked up the bunch of keys and tried to get out.

 

“Uh, didn’t you just hear something strange?”

 

The guard right next to her hiccuped as if he was drunk and asked.

 

“Did anyone hear anything strange? I heard something…”

 

His body tensed. Even though she was as careful as she could, she couldn’t stop the sound from coming out. Then the chief jailer waved his hand and shouted loudly.

 

“What could happen here? Stop thinking about unnecessary things and just have a drink!”

 

She was truly grateful to the warden. Although he took bribes from Libertan and helped abuse the child.

 

‘Thank you so much for being such a rotten human being.’

 

The guards began drinking more loudly. Thanks to this, she was able to sneak out with the jailer’s key bundle.

 

“John. I’m here.”

 

Little John fell asleep again while she was away.

 

‘It’s worth it. It must have been very difficult.’

 

She clinked the keys from the key bundle and placed them in the shackles on John’s legs. Luckily, she found the right key at once!

 

“I’ll release you right away.”

 

Clap!

 

John’s arm, which was hanging in the air, was freed. Since there was only John in the special prison, the sound felt even louder.

 

‘Ugh. The guards shouldn’t notice when they hear this sound.’

 

Then young John narrowed his eyes.

 

“…Is this a dream?”

 

Young John burst out laughing, clenching and unclenching his relaxed hands.

 

“What a ridiculous dream. Have I finally gone crazy?”

 

Even if it were her, she didn’t think she would believe it if something like this suddenly happened. However, after a while, she realized that the darkness was something else and that it was reality. Young John frowned and looked around, saying, ‘It’s not a dream?’ While she was assessing the situation, she also tried to open the iron cage door that had confined him.

 

“Why won’t it open?”

 

Crash, clank, clank.

 

The iron door that would not open made a hollow sound. She put all the keys in the keychain, but the lock on the cell did not open.

 

‘Should I go back and get it?’

 

However, after checking the guards’ keys before coming out, there was no way to get out just by picking the key to John’s cell. She was embarrassed and his hands were shaking.

 

“…also.”

 

Young John gritted his teeth as he looked at the tightly locked iron door.

 

“What kind of joke is this? Is Libertan now torturing with hope?”

 

The voice also contained anger at herself for having had a momentary, vain dream. When she heard that voice, she felt like crying.

 

“No. You can open it. I will open it.”

 

“What are you talking about…”

 

John looked around as if he heard her voice. But he didn’t hear it because she was out of the cell picking up a rock to break the lock. Kang! She picked up a stone and hit the lock. It was very hard, probably because it was a special prison lock. Every time she hit, her hands and arms hurt from the shock wave. Even though her hand holding the stone was hurt and she accidentally let go of the stone and got hurt, I hit the lock without stopping. A stone like this might not work. But still.

 

“Please…”

 

She bit her lip and hit the stone. That moment. Kaan-! The moment she felt like her arm was going to break when she hit it. The seam of the lock came apart. Squeak – The strong iron door opened. She sat down and smiled with joy. Strangely, young John seemed to be looking at her with surprised eyes. She didn’t know why, but his face became serious.

 

“What is this…? Who are you?”

 

Perhaps because he moved too much, his head felt dizzy.

 

‘Why is it so hard?’

 

When she looked at her hands, she saw that her hands and arms were bruised from hitting the stone. The palm she held tightly was bleeding. Her hands and feet became increasingly transparent.

 

‘The dream is coming to an end.’

 

In the original, John faked his death and ran away. So, if she acted like this in this dream, she would only be satisfied. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride. Young John stood up unsteadily and walked towards me with long strides.

 

“What are you? So suddenly…”

 

“Thank god.”

 

She thought he wouldn’t be able to move even if he was released, but it seemed he could move.

 

“You can run away now, right?”

 

“…”

 

“This might not be of much help, but it’s still better than nothing.”

 

“…”

 

“If you don’t think the current situation is right, hide it, keep it, and use it to escape.”

 

Her mouth kept getting dry and she stopped speaking. With trembling hands, she placed a bundle of keys into young John’s hands.

 

“I didn’t do anything wrong, right? Did you break the iron window for no reason? If you don’t run away right away, you’ll get caught and end up in more trouble…”

 

Young John could not say anything. He just stared at me blankly. She was not sure how she looked to young Johan, but she wondered if he’s surprised because it’s so sudden.

 

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I was trying to help, but I may have acted wrongly.”

 

Even though she was so tired that she felt like he was going to collapse, she smiled brightly.

 

“Oh, this isn’t like torture of hope. It’s like an opportunity that came to you who persevered. So make the most of it.”

 

“…”

 

“…You will be able to do well even after you run away from here. You can grow up to be a great person and take revenge on those who bullied you.”

 

“…why.”

 

Little John bit his lip.

 

“Why on earth are you trying to help me?”

 

She knew. Why did she do this?

 

‘If you think about it, it was the same thing that stayed next to the runaway John.’

 

The reason she did something that wasn’t particularly helpful for survival. Honestly, she didn’t know either. Even if it’s just a dream, she had to ask him not to take revenge on her.

 

‘It won’t come out of my mouth.’

 

Revenge was the driving force that fueled John.

 

‘It must have been the only purpose of life.’

 

She couldn’t bear to ask them not to do that. She rolled her eyes and smiled awkwardly.

 

“Just getting to know you a little bit.”

 

“…”

 

“So I couldn’t just ignore it and leave it alone. I know how hard it is for you.”

 

Little John reached out his hand and took her wounded hand. But now her hands had become so transparent that they were almost invisible. His hand crossed the air. He clenched his teeth and said, ‘Okay,’ and hugged her shoulder, which had not yet disappeared. Even though he was still young, being held like this strangely reminded her of the feeling of being held by an adult. Young John spoke in a quiet voice.

 

“Then tell me who you are.”

 

“I am…”

 

The warmth holding her gradually faded. She could feel John’s dream coming to an end. She patted young John on the back.

 

“This is the person who will be your future wife.”

 

 

* * *

 

Blink, blink.

 

‘Stuffy.’

 

When she felt stuffy it was because John was hugging me tightly.

 

‘It was like this in my dream too.’

 

Since this happens in real life too, she couldn’t help but laugh. It was definitely a dream, and the wounds she suffered there were gone.

 

‘I guess it was really nothing.’

 

Still, she didn’t feel empty, perhaps because of the joy of accomplishing something. She rubbed John’s broad back and checked his condition. Surprisingly, the black marks on John’s body had disappeared.

 

‘It seems like the runaway has subsided.’

 

But John’s body was extremely hot. Has the deluge not subsided?

 

‘I’m so feverish. I’d better let it cool down.’

 

When she tried to get up for a moment, his arm that was holding her tightened. An animal-like growl came from his throat. Her body was tense. But what came out of his mouth was something completely different from what she expected.

 

“You can’t go…”

 

Maybe that’s why he endured the binge alone.

 

‘Because I can’t show my weakness to others.’

 

She was in his arms, thinking she was hugged by dozens of blankets. Then the growling gradually stopped. It seemed like she might be able to escape if she stayed just a little longer. She was looking at John’s forehead covered in cold sweat. 

 

Knock, knock.

 

“Lady, are you okay? I heard a strange noise inside.”

 

She heard Betty outside. If things continued like this, Betty might have to see John’s pain.

 

‘Because I promised to hide it from John.’

 

She carefully got out of John’s arms and opened the door. Betty’s face became thoughtful when she saw her.

 

“Ma, ma’am. Your complexion is very bad. You’re sick, right? I guess I should see a doctor right away…”

 

“No, I’m okay. But I want to ask you something.”

 

“Which one is it?”

 

“Can someone secretly bring me a cold wet towel, an ice pack, and some porridge? And don’t let anyone come inside until I call you.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Betty’s eyes widened when she heard what she said. It was definitely a strange request. She said, squinting.

 

“It’s because I want some alone time.”

 

“…”

 

“Instead, you can make any excuse to other people. You can tell me that you might be severely punished if you go in because you have a sensitive personality.”

 

Betty, whose eyes were red, eventually began to cry.

 

“Ma’am… Why do you do everything by yourself?”

 

Huh? What on earth was she thinking? At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly intervened.

 

“What on earth are you hiding?”

 

Erich came striding from afar.

 

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Translator Note: